Ipomoea species are members of the morning glory family Convolvulaceae. Ipomoea batatas, the cultivated species, is commonly referred to as the white or yellow sweetpotato and the orange yam. The plants are typically fast growing vines possessing a wide variety of leaf shapes ranging from palmate and deeply lobed to cordate or triangular shaped leaves with no lobes. These ornamental species produce storage roots like the common sweetpotato, but they are generally not as attractive and they are not palatable. Late in the growing season, tubular flowers appear which are similar to morning glories, but plantings are dominated by the appearance of the foliage. The plants are highly desirable due to their ability to grow under varied stress conditions, cover a large space, and last the entire growing season. Moreover, these plants have few insect or disease problems.
There are currrently six popular types of Ipomoea batatas ornamental sweetpotatoes that are being cultivated primarily for their annual, summer vines in landscaping applications. These six cultivars are: ‘Blackie’ (not patented), having dark purple-black foliage and lavender flowers; ‘Terrace Lime’ (not patented) and ‘Margarita’ (not patented; also known as ‘Sulfur’), which have large brilliant chartreuse leaves and lavender blooms; ‘Black Heart’ (not patented; also known as ‘Ace of Spades’), having heart-shaped leaves with burgundy purple color; ‘Tricolor’ (not patented; also known as ‘Pink Frost’), is a variegated plant which has pale green, white, and pink-margined leaves; and ‘Lady Fingers’ (unpatented), which has medium green, dainty leaves divided into long, thin, fingerlike lobes which are complemented by burgundy stems and veins.
Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’ has recently been released in the United States, and has become widely used as a landscape annual. It is not suitable for mixed containers as this variety exhibits a very vigorous growth and tends to out-compete other species. Another popular variety is ‘Blackie’, a vigorous purple-leaved clone which is also unsuited to containerized gardens. See Armitage. A. M. and J. M. Garner, (2001) Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’. HortScience 36:178.
Therefore, to meet the current horticultural demand, it is desirable to produce new, more robust cultivars of ornamental sweetpotato with attractive foliage colors. leaf shapes, and plant architectures. In addition, it would be advantageous to develop cultivars of ornamental sweetpotato exhibiting a more compact growth, and which do not out-compete othere species in mixed containers.
Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,028), ‘Sweet Caroline Green’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,056), ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 15,437 and ‘Sweet Caroline Purple’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,912) are recently introduced cultivars developed in North Carolina that are characterized by compact growth habit, moderate to deeply lobed palmate leaves, and attractive foliage color.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Ipomoea batatas named ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ that has a dark burgundy-red coloration on mature foliage, which is not currently available in ornamental sweetpotatoes. The variety is suitable for use as a lanscape or containerized plant.
Lineage. The Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ cultivar originated from a conventional cross between Ipomoea batatas cultivars ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ (the female parent) and NC138-1ORN (the male parent; not patented) conducted in the Winter of 2001-2002 at the Horticultural Greenhouses located at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., USA. ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ originated from a conventional cross between the cultivars ‘Sulfur’ (the female parent; not patented) and NCSXBR5-18ORN (the male parent; not patented). NCSXBR5-18ORN originated from a ‘Sulfur’ (the female parent) by ‘Blackie’ (the male parent) cross. NC138-1ORN, the male parent of ‘Sweet Caroline Red’, resulted from a ‘Sulfur’ (the female parent) by ‘Blackie’ (the male parent) cross. Seeds from this cross were planted in the Horticultural Greenhouses in Spring 2002. The individual plant now known as Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ was selected in June 2002 because of its combination of exceptional features, and has been propagated asexually since that time.
Asexual Reproduction. Since its selection, Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ has been asexually reproduced at the Horticultural Greenhouses located in Raleigh, N.C. (USA) predominantly by vegetative propagation of vine cuttings. The combination of characteristics disclosed herein for Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Red’ has remained stable and the plant reproduces true to type through successive generations of asexual reproduction.